Maine

Implementation bill vetoed; MLI committee goes back to work

Last update: January 22, 2018

The committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation (MLI) put together an omnibus marijuana regulation bill, LD 1650. The bill was passed out of committee almost unanimously, and a special session of the legislature was called in late October. The legislature had enough votes to pass LD 1650 but not enough to sustain Gov. LePage’s subsequent veto.

The second half of the 128th legislature started this month, and the MLI committee has begun meeting again. The goal of the committee is to tweak the bill to garner enough support from Republicans and override the expected veto from the governor.

Current marijuana laws in Maine

Possession of small amounts and limited home cultivation are legal: Possession of two and a half ounces or less of marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older. Adults may also cultivate up to six mature marijuana plants at their residence or on another adult’s property with the owner’s permission.

Retail marijuana stores will hopefully be operational by summer 2018: State lawmakers and regulatory officials are currently laying the foundation for a regulated marijuana market. Sen. Roger Katz, chair of the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation, and other lawmakers have said publicly that retail marijuana stores will hopefully open by the summer of next year.

Medical marijuana permitted: An individual may register as a medical marijuana patient if his or her doctor certifies that the individual suffers from one or more of the following conditions:

Alzheimer’s disease

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Cancer

Chronic pain

Crohn’s disease

Epilepsy

Glaucoma

Hepatitis C

HIV or AIDS

Huntington’s disease

Inflammatory bowel disease

Multiple sclerosis

Nausea

Nail patella syndrome

Parkinson’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Patients can purchase marijuana from registered marijuana dispensaries, a registered caregiver, or grow their own.

Historic victory in 2016: The Yes on 1 Campaign

The Marijuana Policy Project has been involved in crafting sensible marijuana policies in Maine since 2009. MPP helped draft and finance the 2009 ballot initiative that improved and expanded Maine’s medical marijuana program. In 2013 and 2014, we ran winning campaigns in Portland and South Portland to make small amounts of marijuana legal for adults 21 and over. These initiatives paved the way for a 2016 statewide initiative to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol.

To lay the ground work for statewide legalization, MPP hired David Boyer in January 2013. The local initiatives in 2013 and 2014 generated enormous earned media and allowed the campaign to educate voters about marijuana. We promoted the idea that marijuana prohibition has been a total failure, and it is illogical to punish an adult for using a substance safer than alcohol.

Beginning in 2015, MPP formed a roundtable of advocates, members of the cannabis industry, lawyers, and lawmakers to draft the statewide initiative to legalize marijuana for adults in Maine, “An Act to Regulate and Tax Marijuana.” Another group, Legalize Maine, also launched a ballot initiative campaign, and both groups began collecting signatures in spring 2015. Urged by advocates and campaign volunteers on both sides, the two groups came to an agreement to work together: MPP would run the campaign using Legalize Maine’s initiative language.

With the campaigns united, over 100,000 signatures were submitted to the Maine Secretary of State’s office on February 1, 2016. The campaign received bad news a month later when the Secretary of State’s office announced it did not qualify for the November ballot. The state disqualified almost 30,000 signatures because a notary’s signature did not exactly match the notary’s signature on file — a handwriting technicality.

The campaign immediately announced its intention to appeal the decision and filed a lawsuit in March 2016. After making the case to the court, the judge ruled in favor and ordered the Secretary of State to re-review the signatures. In late April, the state announced that our campaign did collect enough signatures, and we qualified for the ballot! In Maine, ballot question order is random, and our campaign was lucky enough to win the coveted first question, thus becoming “Yes on 1: Regulate & Tax Marijuana.”

The campaign aired several different television ads. One of the most memorable ads featured former Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion voicing his support of Question 1. Ending marijuana prohibition to free up law enforcement resources was a central message of the campaign. Another key message was the millions in tax revenue that could be generated by taxing and regulation marijuana. And, there was an ad focused on pro-legalization Mainers who had been misled about the details of the initiative.

“It’s About Time” Mark Dion

“Agree”

“Get the Facts”

MPP’s Matthew Schweich and David Boyer managed the Yes on 1 Campaign. The Portland Press Herald, the ACLU of Maine, NORML, and numerous elected officials across Maine endorsed it. The campaign was a combination of effective TV and online advertising bolstered by on-the-ground campaigning. Volunteers across the state made phone calls, went door-to-door, and submitted letters-to-the editor in support of Question 1.

Question 1 turned out to be a real nail-biter, passing with 50.26% of the vote! Opponents went on to request a recount, which took place for two weeks in December. Ultimately, the Maine Secretary of State certificated Question 1’s victory by a margin of 3,995 votes — truly, every vote counts!

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MPP Tracks Marijuana Policy in All 50 States

"Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care. ... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record."
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young, Ruling in the matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition, September 6, 1988